Proper skin care promotes good metabolism and the biological activity of skin, helps maintain the skin in a healthy and beautiful state when combined with nutritional nourishment. Health functional foods are being used for the purpose of enhancing efficient skin care. Health functional foods related to skin care maintain the epidermis, dermal fibroblast layer and subcutaneous tissue that form the skin. Efficient functional foods alleviate the signs of endogenous aging that come with getting older and exogenous aging caused by sunlight. Even though the field of skin care related to health functional foods has received less attention and been the subject of less research compared to functional cosmetics which are developing widely, this area of skin care that maintains and improves the layer of dermal fibroblast through the intake of food, is expected to progress with the commercialization of products in many fields when the related technical research development is galvanized and the related patents are applied for. Research into health functional foods related to skin care in Korea started rather late in comparison to other advanced countries where patents for relevant techniques have been applied for since 1990's together with research conducted on how they might be used for practical purposes. This study used the key words ‘skin care, health functional food’ to search for Korean patents that have been applied for at the Korean Intellectual Property Office from 1983 to 2011 using the KIPRIS database, in order to help researchers in the related fields by organizing the patented formulas for health functional foods for skin care which have gained attention recently. According to the number of registrations in each industry field, the total number of patents was 1, 120 we screened the major patents among them, the field with the largest number was food foodstuff non-alcoholic beverage and preparation or treatment(A23L) with 135, then natural plant medicine & medical supplies and cosmetics(A61K) with 112, microorganisms or enzymes(C12N) with 63, heterocyclic compounds(C07D) with 44, horticulture or cultivation of sea weeds, forestry(A01G) 16 times, listed from the highest to the lowest number of applications. It has been revealed that food, foodstuff, non-alcoholic beverage and preparation or treatment(A23L) was the industry field where the most patents for health functional foods related to skin care were registered.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects that body composition, nutrient intake, and biochemical indices have on skin status, as well as their associations with skin health status, by assessing 44 female university students. The subjects were classified into 3 groups according to skin sensitivity: sensitive skin (n=11), slightly sensitive skin (n=24), and normal skin (n=9). The study included anthropometric measurements and body composition analyses, dietary intake evaluations, blood chemical analyses, and skin health status assessments. Based on % body fat, the results indicated the subjects were moderately obese (29.6%). Obesity indices were not different among the groups, but the sensitive skin group tended to have higher skinfold thickness. Dry skin was determined as the skin type of all subjects. In the sensitive skin groups, U-zone and T-zone sebum were significantly lower (p〈0.05), and spots were significantly higher (p〈0.05) than in the normal skin group. In terms of nutrient intakes, the sensitive skin groups consumed significantly lower amounts of P and vitamins A and E (p〈0.05). There were no significant differences in serum lipid fractions or total antioxidant status among the groups. In correlation coefficients analysis, skin elasticity had significant negative correlations with subscapular and midaxillary skinfold thickness, body protein, and body minerals (p〈0.05). Wrinkling had positive correlations with triceps and thigh skinfold thickness (p〈0.05). Skin evenness had negative correlations with energy intake, vitamins A, B1, B2, C, E, niacin, and zinc (p〈0.05), as well as folate and P (p〈0.01) and vitamin B6 (p〈0.001). A similar correlation tendency was observed for spots and nutrient intake, showing negative correlations with vitamins A, B6, and E, as well as folate, Fe, and P. U-zone sebum showed significant positive correlations with serum levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides. From these findings, skin health status appears to be affected by both nutrient intake and body composition. Therefore, having a proper balance between dietary intake and body composition may influence skin health status in females with sensitive skin.

Oligossaccharides have beneficial effects on the immune system, atopy and skin health according to the prebiotic effect on intestinal microflora. Due to the excellent physiological functions of these oligosaccharides, the demand for prebiotics is rapidly increasing in the world. In this review, it has been shown that galactooligosaccharide( GOS) intake improves skin health and atopic eczema and fructooligosaccharide( FOS) prevent atopic dermatitis in human clinical trials. These results indicate that oligosaccharides are sufficiently applicable as a functional food for improving skin health and skin diseases.

본 연구에서는 락툴로스(lactulose) 51.67%와 갈락토올리고당(galactooligo saccharides) 15.8%로 이루어진 듀올리고(DuOligo)의 섭취를 통하여 피부개선 효능을 조사하였다. 40 ∼ 60 대의 건강한 여성 37명 을 대상으로 대조군(덱스트린)과 실험군(듀올리고군)으로 나누어 각각 8주 동안 섭취 후, 수분보유량, 경표피수 분손실량, 멜라닌지수, 홍반지수와 주름지수를 측정하였다. 그 결과, 듀올리고 섭취 8주 후의 수분 보유량은 대 조군에 비하여 수분 보유량이 38.22% 유의적으로 증가하였다(p < 0.01). 대조군의 경피수분손실량은 8주후 3.39 g/h/m2로 감소한데 비하여 듀올리고군의 경피수분손실량은 8주후 5.32 g/h/m2 감소하였다. 대조군의 멜 라닌 지수는 시간에 따라 그 값이 유의적으로 증가하였으나, 듀올리고군의 멜라닌 지수는 시간에 따른 유의적 차이가 나타나지 않았다. 또한, 듀올리고군은 대조군에 비하여 주름의 총 넓이, 총 주름의 길이, 주름의 수 및 주름의 깊이가 확연하게 감소하였다(p < 0.05). 듀올리고의 피부개선 기능성 소재로서의 응용 가능성을 확인하 였다.